Wire-driving tool.



L. & E. STROHACKER.

WIRE DRIVING TOOL.

APPLIcATloN FILED MAR. 29, 1911.

Patented May 7,1918.

2 SHEETS- SHEET l.

L. L E. STROHACKER.

WIRE DRIVING TOOL.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 29. IsII.

Patented May 7,1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.v

LOUIS STROHACKER AND EDWARD STROHACKER, OF FREEPOR'I, ILLNOIS.

WIRE-DRIVING TOOL.

assesses.

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that we, Louis STROHACKER and EDWARD STROHAGKER, citizens ofthe `ing Tool, of which the following is declared to be a full, clear,and eXact description.

This invention relates to wire driving tools, and has been designed toprovide a noveltool by means of which wire, flexible rods or otherbendable strands of material may be driven or forced into the ground. Itisoften desirable to anchor the ends of wires of wire fences in theground for the purpose of grounding` the wires, and ordinarily a holemust be drilled or bored in the ground for the reception of the wire,the wire inserted into the hole, and afterward the ground tamped to lillin the hole. With the present device, the end of the wire may be driveninto the ground to any depth desired without the necessity of previouslyboring or drilling any hole for the reception 'of the wire.

The invention consists, therefore, in a wire driving tool having a guidefor the Wire adapted to be placed upon the ground, and means adjacentsaid guide for forcing said wire out `therethrough and into the ground.It further consists in a wire guide adapted to be placed upon theground, and having a restricted opening for the passage of the wiretherethrough, means adjacent said `opening for gripping the wire andfeeding it out through said opening, and manually operated means foractuating said wire feeding means. The invention further consists in theseveral other novel features hereinafter fully set forth and moreparticularly defined in the claims.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the drawing accompanying thisspecification, in which:

Figure 1, is a view partly in side elevation and partly in centrallongitudinal section of -a wire driving tool embodying a simple form ofthe present invention; Fig. 2, is a view partly in plan and partly inhorizontal section of the tool seen in Fig. 1, the line lof sectionbeing indicated at 22 in Fig. 1;

Fig. B, is an end view of a certain wire gripping head; Fig. l, is avertical section thereof taken on the line 4:-4 in Fig. 3; Fig. 5, is aside elevation `of a slightly modified formof the invention; and Fig. 6,is a side Serial No. 158,485.

elevation, partly broken out, of the second modified form of theinvention.

.Referring to said drawings, and first to Figs. l to 4, inclusive, whichillustrate the preferred embodiment of the invention, the referencenumeral 7, designates a base which may be provided with a foot plate 7a, of reetangular form, as shown in Fig. 2, and in the operation of thetool, said plate is arranged to lie upon the surface of the ground.Preferably said plate is formed on its under side with a downwardlyprojecting, inverted, conical tip, or point, 8, which projects below thelower surface of the foot plate, and enters the ground whenever the footplate is pressed down thereupon. Said conical tip has a lengthwiseextending orifice, or opening, 9, through which the wire A, is driveninto the ground. Conveniently, the upper side of the conical tip 8, iscountersunk to provide an inverted conical surface which acts as a guidewhen inserting the wire through the tip. Extending upward from the footplate 7a, is a tubular guide 11, which conveniently may comprise a pieceof pipe threaded upon its ends, its lower end being secured in aninternally threaded boss 12, formed upon and extending up from the upperface of the foot plate 7a, a centrally perforated cap 13, may be securedupon the upper threaded end of the tubular guide 11. Within said tubularguide 11, is a wire feeding means, which in the preferred form of theinvention, may comprise a reciprocatory, wire gripping head 14, securedupon the lower end of a tubular stem 15, which is provided with meanswhereby the stem and head may be reciprocated in the operation of thetool. In said head 14, is clutch mechanism for gripping the wire duringthe downward movements of the head but arranged to release the wireduring the upward movements of the head. A convenient form of clutch maycomprise. two spring pressed steel balls 16, that are confined in twoguideways 17, which converge toward each other at their upper ends, asclearly indicated in Fig. 4:, whereby when the head 14C, is moveddownward, with the wire, A, in Contact with said balls 16, the ballswill become wedged between the outer face of said guideways 17, and thewire, whereby the latter is gripped and moved bodily with the head. Theguideways 17, may be formed by drilling two or more holes inward fromthe Patented lllay 7, 1915.

lower end 0f the head. The balls are normally pressed upward against thewire by coiled springs 18, one for each ball, said springsv beingconfined between plugs 19, screwed into the ends of the holes 17, andball retainer blocks 20, that bear against ythe balls. It is to beunderstood that the head 14, vhas a centrally located lengthwiseextending restricted opening` or bore 22, through which the wire A,extends, and that the upper ends of the bores 17, open to said centralopening 22.Y A clutch may be provided for preventing upward movement ofthe wire when the feeding` head is moved upward, and said clutch maycomprise a ball X, held in a hole in the tip 8, and spring pressed in aninclined upward direction to" ward the wire, by a spring Y, which bearsaga-inst the ball and a plug Z, secured in the lower end of the hole.

In. the preferred form of the invention, the means vfor reciprocatingthe tubular stem 15, comprises la link 23, pivoted upon an ear 24,formed upon the upper face of the foot plate 7a, and alever 25,fulcrumed at one` end to the link 23, and pivotally connectedto a handle26, secured to the top of the stem 15. Conveniently, said lever may beformed of two bars 27,l which straddle thehandle 26, and are broughttogether at their ends, and at one end secured to the link 23, by a pin28, and at the other end secured together by end pieces 29, thus forminga handle. rl`he handle 26, extends up from the tubular stem 15, and hasa central,lengthwise extending passage therethrough for the wire A. k

In the operation of a device, embodying the preferred form of invention,a suitable length of wire is inserted through Jche handle, tubular stemand head 14. The foot plate 7a, is then placed upon the ground, and the`user steps upon the foot plate to hold it'securely in place with thetip entering the ground. By grasping the handle 26, with one hand, hecan hold the tool in position, and oscillate the lever 25, with theother hand,thereby reciprocating the stem 15, .and head 14. With thedownward strokes of the head, the balls 16, grip the wire between themand move it downward with the head. During the upward strokes of thehead, the balls release their hold upon the wire, and the spring pressedball X, prevents it fromv being carried upward. Said spring pressed ballmay be omitted, however, and at the beginning of the work, it maybenecessary for the user to hold the wire at the top of the handle 26,during the upward movements of the handle, to prevent the balls fromcarrying the wire upward, .but as soon as the wire is forced a fewinches into the ground, the friction of the ground on the wire willprevent any upward movement thereof. With the yuse of a tool embodyingthis invention, a piece of flexible, bendable wire, of light gage, lnaybe driven into the ground to a considerable depthfour to five feet, ormore-and when the wire is started down straight, it will continue in astraight line. 7e aim to have a shortstroke head 14, in order that thespace between the discharge orifice 9, and head, .when raised, may beshort, so as to prevent any danger of the wire bending between said twoparts.

1n the modified form shown in F ig. 5, the base 7, guide 11, head 14,and tubular stem 15, are the same, or substantially the same as thecorresponding parts of the preferred-form. In this modified form,however, we provide a handle 25, at the upper end of the stem 15, whichhandle is rigidly secured thereto, and has oppositely disposed handpieces 29a, which may be grasped by the hands, whereby the stem ,may bereciprocated in the manner of the ordinary bicycle pump.

In the modified form, shown in Fig. 6, the actuating means comprises aweighted sleeve 25", which surrounds the tubular stem 15, and is adaptedto be grasped by the hand of the user in the operation of the device.

A ,shouldery 29h, is fixedly secured to the stem 15, and the secondshoulder 29, is ixedly secured to the upper end of the stem 15. rlheweighted sleeve 25h, is capable of lengthwise movements upon the stembetween the shoulders 29", 290, and in use acts as a hammer with whichto strike against said shoulders. In the operation of this form of theinvention, the user takes hold of the weighted sleeve 25h, and forciblymovesit up and down, striking the shoulders 29", 29C, thereby forcingthe stem, head and wire down upon the downward strokes, and lifting thestein and head on the upward strokes.

It is to be observed that the tubular guide 15, acts as a wirestraightener so that it is not necessary for the user to straighten outthe wire before using it, although it is preferable to straighten thefirst few inches thereof.

More or less varia-tion of the details of construction shown anddescribed is possible without departing from the spirit of thisinvention; we desire, therefore, not to limit ourselves to the exactforms of the invention shown and described', butI intend in thefollowing claims to point out all of the. invention disclosed herein.

7e claim as new and desire to Letters Patent:

1. A wire driving tool, having a base arranged to rest on the ground andhaving a downwardly extending wire guiding aperture therein, openingdirectly to the ground, wire feeding means adjacent said base forfeeding wire downward through said aperture, and actuating mechanismtherefor.

secure by 2. A wire driving tool comprising a member arranged to rest onthe ground and having a downwardly extending wire guiding aperturetherein, opening directly to the ground, wire feeding means in said basefor feeding wire through said aperture, and manually operated actuatingmechanism for said wire feeding means.

3. A wire driving tool comprising a basel having a foot plate arrangedto rest on the ground and having a downwardly extending wire guidingaperture therein, opening directly to the ground, wire feeding meansadjacent said base for feeding wire through said aperture, and actuatingmechanism for said wire feeding means.

t. A wire driving tool comprising a base portion arranged to rest on theground and having a downwardly extending wire guiding aperture therein,opening directly to the ground, a reciprocatory wire feeding headadjacent said base and movable toward and away therefrom and meanswhereby said head is reciprocated.

5. A wire driving tool comprising a base portion arranged to rest on theground and having a downwardly extending wire guiding aperturetherein,opening directly to the ground, a reciprocatory head guidedtherein and having downwardly acting wire gripping means, and a stemsecured to said head whereby said head is reciprocated.

6. A wire driving tool comprising a base portion arranged to rest on theground, and having an upstanding tubular guide and a downwardlyextending wire guiding aperture therebelow, opening directly to theground, a reciprocatory wire feeding head sliding in said guide, andhaving downwardly acting, spring pressed, wire gripping members, and astem secured to said head.

7. A wire driving tool comprising a base portion arranged to rest on theground and having a downwardly projecting, perforated wire guiding tip,adapted to enter the ground, wire feeding means directly above said tip,and arranged to feed wire through said tip and actuating means for saidwire feeding means.

8. A wire driving tool, comprising a base portion arranged to rest onthe ground and having a downwardly projecting centrally perforated tipadapted to enter the ground, and having also an upstanding guidethereabove, a reciprocatory, wire feeding head guided by said guide, andhaving downwardly acting 'wire gripping members for feeding wire throughsaid tip, and a stem secured to said head.v

9. A wire driving tool comprising a base portion adapted to rest on theground and having a downwardly projecting centrally perforated ytiparranged to enter the ground,

Y and also an upstanding tubular guide thereabove, a reciprocatory wirefeeding head in said guide and having downwardly acting wire grippingmembers, and a tubular head actuating stem secured to said head forguiding the wire to said head.

10. A wire driving tool comprising a base portion having a foot platearranged to rest on the ground and having a downwardly extending wireguiding aperture, and an upstanding guide, a reciprocatory wire feedinghead guided by said guide, and having a central bore therethrough anddownwardly acting wire gripping members adjacent said bore, and atubular head actuating stem secured to said head.

l1. A wire driving tool comprising a base arranged to rest on theground, a wire feeding head guidedthereabove, and having a central boretherethrough and wire grippino members adjacent said bore, a tubular heaactuating stem secured to said head and acting as a wire straightenerfor the wire and a handle for reciprocating said stem.

12. A wire driving tool comprising a base arranged to rest on theground, a wire feeding head guided thereabove and having wire grippingmembers, a tubular head actuating stem secured to said head and arrangedto straighten and guide the wire to said head, a lever support extendingup from said base and a lever fulcrumed on said support and pivotallyconnected to said stem.

13. A wire driving tool comprising a base arranged to rest on theground, a wire feeding head having a central bore therethroughl 100 andguided thereabove and having wire gripping members, a tubular stemsecured to said head, and arranged to guide the wire in a straight lineto the head, a handle at the top of said stem, a lever support eXtend-10E ing up from the said base, and a lever fulcrumed on said support andpivotally connected tosaid stem.

14. A wire driving tool comprising a base arranged to rest on the groundand having a centrally perforated downwardly extending tip, a guide, areciprocatory, short stroke wire feeding head guided in said guide, thereciprocatory movements of said head being close to said tip.

15. A wire driving tool comprising a base arranged to rest on theground, and having an upstanding tubular guide, a wire feeding headreciprocating in said guide, and having a central bore therethrough, andtwo V ball guideways, converging toward said central bore from the lowerend, and spring pressed balls, one in each guideway, capable of grippingthe wire between them, and means for reciprocating said head.

16. A wire driving tool, having a base arranged to rest on the groundand formed with a perforated downwardly extending wire guiding tip, wirefeeding means adjacent said base, actuating mechanism there- 130 for,and"` means `in said tip for preventing upward movementl of thek wire.

17 A wiredriving tool comprising a base p'ortion'arranged toreston theground and having al perforateddownwardly extending wirefgui'ding. "tip,a reoiprocatory wire feeding headadjacent said base, means whereby saidhead isrecprooated, and means for preventingupwar'd movement of thewire.

' 18. A wire driving' tool comprising a base portion arranged. torest onthe ground a-nd inO' means for feeding wire throuOh said 15 D D 'C5 baseportion, a stem secured to said head whereby said head 1s reciprocated,and means for preventing upward movement of i the wire.

LOUIS STROHACKER. EDVARD STROHACKER.

(tpiestoffthis'rpa'tent mayfbe obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. CL

